Man, have I ever been productive this month. Sure, I don't have any job interviews yet but I managed to finish off two projects within a span of a week.

The first project I finished was my Datemaker cardigan, which I started on right after Christmas.


It wasn't the fastest knit in the world, but I love it! The pattern is great and very easy to follow. While I was intimidated by it at first, I was relieved to realize it was just diagonal ribbing.


I didn't resize the pattern because according to my gauge match it would fit me perfectly. However, I ended up not seaming in the belt all the way so I could cinch it up a little more. This makes the cardigan "wrap", and I also sewed in a snap with invisible thread so it stays closed. I also put a hook on the belt end so I could catch it in a stitch and it wouldn't flap around.



If you're going to make this cardigan, I highly recommend doing the cuffs BEFORE the sleeves so you can pick up stitches from the cuff instead of sew them on after. I followed a lot of Tasha's tips from her Briar Rose knit-a-long when doing this sweater. As always, by gum, by golly! is a great resource. I also did the three-needle bindoff for the first time, as well as the crochet slip-stitch seaming
method. I love how my seams turned out! So neat and tidy.




The second project was Butterick 4790, aka Misses' Wrap Dress, aka I hope you like binding with bias tape because that's the bulk of this project.



Before starting the dress, I heard a lot of complaints about the fit of the dress, so I went looking for reviews and tips on what to do. The best one I found is from Edelweiss Patterns, who notes that the reissue is actually a different bodice shape than the original drawings on the envelope, and provides a fix. I was going to do the fix but then forgot during my cutting out. Oops.




 Katrina also notes that the dress should be worn with the proper undergarments (I'm wearing a WKD bullet bra here) and a petticoat (which I'm not wearing because I'm the only vintage girl in the world without a long one).



However, I'm really happy with my results. This is only my third sewing project, so it's quite rough around the edges, but I'm pretty proud. I'm sure in a year or two I'll look back and hate it, but for now, I love it.